Patrick Smith: At the Ends of the Earth

Transcription

1

2 Patrick Smith: At the Ends of the Earth Presented by: Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art Dufresne & Cobb Foundations Gallery October 23 - December 31, 2008 Museum programming is made possible by the generosity of our members and supporters, with ongoing assistance from The National Endowment for the Arts, the Montana Arts Council and the Citizens of Cascade County. On-line catalog 2008, Paris Gibson Square, Inc. All rights reserved. All images 2008 Patrick Smith Catalog designed by Bob Durden, Curator of Art, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art

3 Figure 1) Self Portrait in a Clean Suit, 1998, oil-colored black & white infrared silver print, 13 X 19 inches. 1

4 2 Patrick Smith received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana, in His current photographic works are ongoing long term projects showing images portraying the surreal landscapes and persons living and working on the ice caps of Greenland and Antarctica to western landscapes dealing with environmental concerns. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana, Billings Clinic, Billings, Montana, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. and South Pole Research Station, Antarctica. His work is also included in many private collections.

5 Figure 2) Polar Portraits, Greenland (self-portrait), 2007,, 12 x 18 inches. 3

6 Artist s Statement My current work deals with the creative process of making photographs in an extreme environment. Living and working at a research station in the middle of the Greenland ice cap challenges me to deal with isolation, harsh weather and not the least incorporating the stark white and seemingly barren landscape of the ice cap to photographs that convey my ideas, thoughts and hopefully some interesting images. A solitary photograph of the ice cap might not be perceived as a very dynamic image. There is the sky, the vast white ice cap and a horizon line dividing the two. That being said, I find that these simple qualities of the ice cap elicit ideas that take advantage of this unique environment. Multiple images pieced together in a grid system show a passage of time, an element of mystery and hopefully an interesting composition of color and design. Some single images utilize made-up signs with statements that might describe or enforce the strangeness of this surreal landscape. The cold weather portraits are straight forward documents but can be alien in appearance for the dress used to combat the extreme elements. Found photographs and previously taken photos are incorporated into some images for the contrast of environments, time differentials or simply the way it is perceived with the context of the ice cap in the background. Pat Smith,

7 Figure 3) Restricted Area No. Two, 2006,, 9 prints measuring 6.75 X 10 inches each 5

8 6 (Figure 4) Deep Ice Core Drill Tent, 2006,, 11 X 16 inches

9 Curator s Statement If one were to look for a person who epitomizes what it is to be an artist in the 21st century, one would need to look no further than Patrick Smith that is if you could track him down. Over the past 3 decades, Pat has traveled as a member of numerous scientific expeditions to both Polar Regions. As a member of those teams, most recently returning in August of this year from the Polar Ice Cap, he has been responsible for the maintenance of life support systems and other instrumentation in some of the most isolated and desolated areas on the planet chiefly Greenland and the Antarctic. Though his responsibilities on these treks has been rigorous and daunting, much time exists between often tedious tasks and Pat has filled up these moments in a remarkable fashion visually recording the environment, team members and their equipment and truly poignant observations about time. Pat Smith is known for equally beautiful and provocative photographs of the West, and a larger exhibition would be required to examine all of those subjects. In the Greenland and Antarctic photographs, Pat focuses the viewer on the harshness of nature and the irony of the human presence in such locations as exemplified in visual statements such as Empty, 1998 (back cover) and Restricted Area # 2, 2007 (figure 3). The latter being a series of photos shot over time utilizing a 10 second shutter timer demonstrating the artist s athletic abilities in extreme conditions. As a 21st century artist, Pat capitalizes on deep skill sets that have allowed him opportunities to travel to remote places. His mechanical acumen is deft and his ability to endure isolation and long days summers in the Polar Regions are abundant with light, if not warmth is not to be understated. These abilities are coupled with a wry wit, an active imagination and a probing/scientific intellect. As a photographer, time and light are critical and Pat bridges measurements with intu- 7

10 ition and experience to capture equally compelling straight forward photo-documentary style images such as Deep Ice Core Drilling Tent, 2006 (figure 4) and Aurora over The Bighouse, Summit Station Greenland, 2006 (cover). These photographs make the viewer long to visit these far away, frigid places and overcome a desire for comfort to experience first-hand what the artist demonstrates as tranquil and serene situations and occasions. However, the portraits bring us back to reality capturing the moisture that has collected on eye lashes and accumulated from the condensation of breath penetrating a mask as reminders of frigid temperatures (figure 2). As an artist and photographer, Pat is mindful of his influences, while providing a vision that is uniquely his own. He reminds us that art is not created in a vacuum and that even in the most isolated places and working in extreme conditions the creative mind searches out meaning and creates contexts for understanding the world in which we live. We thank Patrick Smith for sharing his work with our museum patrons. Bob Durden, Curator of Art, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art Exhibition Checklist: Polar Portraits #s 1, 2 & Oil colored black & white infrared silver prints 4 prints measuring 5.5 X 7.5 inches in each suite Empty 1998 Oil colored black & white infrared silver print Print Gr X 19 inches Fuel Team Three (South Pole Station Antarctica) 1998 Oil colored black & white infrared silver print Print IR X 14 inches Aurora over the Bighouse X 16.5 inches Greenland Portraits No X 18 inches Restricted Area No. Two prints measuring 6.75 X 10 inches each Deep Ice Core Drill Tent X 16 inches A Photograph of a Photograph of a Man Dressed in a Woman s Bathing Suit Juxtaposed on the Horizon Line of the Greenland Ice Cap in May of Ultrachrome Ink on Paper 11.5 X 17.5 inches The Red Haired Girl in Loretta Lux s Photograph The Rose Garden Photographed in Greenland prints measuring 9 X 13.5 inches each Self Portrait with Mask X 18 inches Nine Photographs Documenting the Movement of Snow prints measuring 8 X 8 inches each This is not the Greenland Icecap X 18 inches A Photograph of a Photograph Titled Marianne by Loretta Lux a Photographer Who Has No Idea That Marianne was Taken to Greenland and Photographed Four Feet Above the Ice Cap in April of X 16 inches 8 Self Portrait in a Clean Suit 1998 Oil colored black & white infrared silver print 13 X 19 inches Bamboo Series No X 15 inches Horizon Line #s prints measuring 6.75 X 10 inches each

11 Figure 5) The Red Haired Girl in Loretta Lux s Photograph The Rose Garden Photographed in Greenland 2007,, each print measures 9 x 13.5 inches 9

12 Greenland Inland Traverse (GRIT), 2008 July 7, 2008 Hi All, Another day another dollar here in Greenland. After about 5 weeks of traveling towards the summit of the icecap we finally made it to Summit Station. A little over 700 miles averaging 2 to 6 miles per hour makes for slow going. Along the way we delivered fuel to NEEM the multinational European science/ice core drilling camp (350 miles into the trip) and also some fuel to Summit Station. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has deemed the Greenland first ever inland traverse a success (so far., we have not made it back yet!) and has decided to fund and plan for another next year. The Traverse is slower than the Hercules C-130 planes but a hell of a lot cheaper and we can carry much more per dollar and less fuel is used, also we can carry larger items, such as the planned new station in the future. We stayed a week and a half at Summit, good food, visiting friends, checking out the science that is happening there, doing traverse maintenance and I suppose some beer and a few bottles of scotch and maybe some other misc. liquids were consumed. We are on our way back now, 700 miles that is at this point going much quicker as we are following our same tracks back to take advantage of being packed down and easier to drive on. This may change as we lose elevation from feet and get closer to sea level where

13 the warmer temps may create snow swamps and potentially stop us. We ll find out I suppose. If this happens our contingency plan is to winterize and leave everything on the ice cap and snowmobile out with our Skidoos. If the Skidoos can t make it then we see if the NSF has any funds left to bring in a helicopter or Twin Otter ski equipped plane to pick us up. If no funds I brought my cross-country skis as a last ditch plan. Brad and Robin will have to walk in the wet snow. So that is the GRIT traverse as it stands at the moment, 600 miles away from Thule and the coast, taking a bit longer than I had planned but I ve heard it has been in the 90 s back in Billings. I don t mind the cooler temps here at all. Cheers, Pat from an sent by Patrick Smith to friends via satellite while traversing the ice cap. The GRIT traverse started in mid April for me with preparations in Kangerlussuaq Greenland, then in late April I flew up to Qaanaaq in Northwest Greenland where Thule is located with the rest of the crew to make further preparations. We started traveling in early May and finished in late July. We ended up being flown out by heliocopter 55 miles from our destination as the ice/ snow was getting too soft, lots of melt, rivers of water and lakes forming making it to dangerous to continue to the coast. Patrick Smith

14 Empty, 1998, oil-colored black & white infrared silver print, print Gr , 13 X 19 inches 1400 First Ave. N. Great Falls, MT info@the-square.org Museum Hours: Free Admission Courtesy of Monday - Friday 10am to 5pm Tuesday Evenings 7-9pm Saturday 12-5pm Closed Sundays